President Trump on Monday signed an order allowing Americans to fix their own cars with aftermarket or third-party parts, a move aimed at breaking up the auto parts monopoly and making auto repairs more affordable.
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The memorandum mirrors a similar directive Mr. Trump signed in February that enabled farmers to repair their own farm equipment.
“This is something that’s very exciting to me,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It means a lot to people that own vehicles, cars in particular, but cars and anything else. It’s going to save them a lot of money. They’re going to be able to do it themselves.”
Mr. Trump said he became interested in the order after reading about people who “were arrested for fixing their car.”
“It’s right to fix and I think it’s really common sense. If somebody wants to fix — some of these people are better mechanics than mechanics in the shop,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re telling the mechanic in the shop how to fix their car or their truck.”
Automakers increasingly are controlling vehicle repairs and parts through software and other exclusive tools that force car owners to pay higher costs.
Under the directive, the Environmental Protection Agency will issue guidance clarifying what actions individuals may take to fix their vehicles’ emissions systems, expedite ways for consumers to acquire aftermarket auto parts, and stop issuing civil actions against people who attempt to fix or modify their cars.
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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who attended the announcement, said the Trump administration would not “be going after people who are fixing their own vehicles like past administrations have.”
The Biden administration issued several environmental regulations that required auto repairs to be completed by dealerships or mechanics who were certified under the Clean Air Act, a rule Mr. Trump said increased the cost of car repairs.
Mr. Trump earlier this month met with auto industry leaders to discuss a potential “right-to-repair” directive. Executives from General Motors, Ford Motor Co., the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation attended along with Sen. Bernie Moreno, Ohio Republican who is a former auto dealer.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has supported the proposal, noting that 75% of post-warranty vehicle repairs are performed at independent shops.
However, the auto dealers’ group had opposed the idea, saying it would enable aftermarket parts dealers to reverse engineer auto parts and produce “knockoffs.”
They also said it gives insurance companies more power to influence repair decisions.
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